On Saturday, Dec. 9, the Lakeland University men and women’s basketball teams took on conference play against Aurora University. The men played first at 2 p.m. with the women’s team following them at 4:15 p.m., with each leading to a separate outcome.

In the men’s game, both Lakeland and Aurora were neck in neck in the first half. Around the 10-minute mark, the Muskies found themselves down 27-18. This didn’t stop them as they turned it around and tied the ball game at 40 a piece with two minutes and 31 seconds remaining. As the buzzer went off for the first half, the score was 43-42 in favor of the Muskies. They led in the first half thanks to a three point shot that was made from Trent Nickel, freshman accounting and business administration major, with five seconds left in the half. Pat McDonald, junior exercise science major, lead the Muskies in the first half with 10 points and one steal in 16 minutes.

For the second half, the game was not in Lakeland’s hands. They found themselves in a deeper deficit as Aurora shot 57 percent on the field compared to a 31 percent field goal percentage from Lakeland in the second half. This performance made the Muskies lose by a score of 90-76. Carlos Campos, sophomore graphic design major, highlighted the night for the Muskies by having 19 points and four assists in the game. With this game in the books, the men’s team is now 5-3 overall with a 3-3 record in conference play.

The women’s team followed up with a performance that let the fans leave with a happy mood. The first half was very similar to the men’s game as both teams were never giving up. Although Aurora never found themselves down in the first quarter, the Muskies swapped the game around as they never found themselves down in the second quarter. Lakeland took the first half by the score of 30-29. Despite the points being spread amongst the players, Megan Will, freshman exercise science major, lead the way with nine points.

In the second half, the Muskies scored half of their points off of free throw attempts. They had 31 points and made 15 points at the charity stripe. Miranda Jacobsen, junior biology major, exploded on the court with 13 points scored. She was three for seven on the field with a five-for-six performance at the free throw line in the second half. This showing helped the Muskies take the second half and beat Aurora by a score of 61-54. This makes the women’s basketball team 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the NACC standings.

The men’s basketball team’s next game is on Saturday, Dec.16 at 4 p.m. followed by the women’s game at 6:15 p.m.